The 21-Day Financial Fast: Your Path to Financial Peace and Freedom

by Michelle Singletary

Book Overview

Whether you're living paycheck to paycheck or just trying to make smarter financial choices, let award-winning writer and Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary show you the practical steps you need to take for the financial peace you long for.

In The 21-Day Financial Fast, Michelle proposes a field-tested financial challenge: for twenty-one days, put away your credit cards and buy only the barest essentials. What...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0310338336
• ISBN13: 9780310338338
• Release Date: January 2014
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

Well worth the read

A no nonsense approach to doing the right thing; getting your finances in their proper order.

Day 6 on 21 Day Fast

Who knew I would be on a financial fast? This book as been an important awakening for me. Wasn't sure that I could commit to this fast. But everyday a new awareness happens. This is a must have book. Heard Michelle Singletary speak a few weeks ago and it is certain she is the "bonafide" expert in taking you from ruins to revelation to riches. The Power to Prosper: 21 Days to Financial Freedom

Why is the mere mention of God so offensive? A great book is a great book.

I've read many of the reviews and I'm intrigued by the somewhat visceral reaction of several commenters to God. Everyone believes in something (that includes believing in no God). As Christians we live every day with commentary and advice that is anti-God without bashing the source. You simply take any sound advice that you can use and leave the rest. And if you're really open-minded you may take some of what you didn't originally believe and consider its relevance. That's not weakness, its sound judgment. So back to the book. I've completed the 21-day financial fast and it opened my eyes to so many issues that I wasn't aware of. The concepts in the book are very simple and practical. Whether or not you're Christian, everyone needs to understand about credit, budgeting, saving, and debt. The book does a great job of presenting these topics in a very conversational manner that makes them easy to understand. It also forces you to take a look at your own role in the circumstances you find yourself in. While many are suffering from the effects of the recession, those same people can also learn how their financial habits and decisions could easily have landed them in the same predicament several years later if the recession had never happened; things were just accelerated by the economy. I recommend this book to people of all faiths. While there is a heavy emphasis on Christian beliefs (and what author doesn't inject some of himself/herself into their work), the principles and concepts are applicable to anyone interested in a financial breakthrough. Interestingly enough the principles discussed from the Bible apply to everyday life whether you "believe" in God or not. The book never says belief in God equals prosperity, and rejection of God equals financial ruin. I do know from personal experience however, that humbling yourself and yielding to God's infinite wisdom and power (including your finances) will reap rewards greater than you could ever ask or think. So I encourage everyone to read the book for themselves and apply the knowledge and principles to their lives before making any judgment. Thanks Mrs. Singletary for an awesome resource!

All People Can Learn from This Book; Religion/Spirituality Aside

I think that it is a shame that when we are faced with a harsh truth, especially in these difficult economical times, that we run under the shadow of "that's for religious/spiritual people" or that's for "stable" people. I personally have all her books and my "non-churched" friends and patients ask me what I am reading and ask me how they can get on the bandwagon because they simply need help or they realize they never thought about what they spent in a day, muchless 21 days. And let us face it, in these times, you need help from God {or whomever your Higher Power} is and at the very least from someone like Michelle Singletary who has taken the time to show you what works if all you do is TRY. And it's not try for a lifetime {though for some of us that's a good idea}, it is 21 days, 3 weeks. And what I really appreciate is other than the minimal cost of the book, it costs you nothing but sacrifice and time and a spending journal which you can get for less than a dollar. The exercises and the help is there. There is no workshop, CD/DVD or 1-800 number to supplement with it for it to help you. And you would probably be amazed that you can eat out of your pantry, not get a manicure or your hair done for 3 weeks and not miss a beat but save in the process. We spend so much on eating out and snacks and other excesses that we don't realize until it is too late and we are beyond a balanced budget. And if you look at the book, it is a reality of why we as a country are where we are, because of excess spending and mostly for things we don't even remember buying. So I say "Kudos" and "Thanks" to Ms.Singletary. It may have hurt going down but it felt good in the end when I saw my success with the fast. And I am by no means saying I am perfect in my budget and spending, but thanks to her I am on the right track.

Has a Lot of Positive Input That Works- Just Find The Parts That Work For You

When I first got THE POWER OF PROSPERITY 21 DAYS TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM, I was very skeptical. Sometimes these type of books promise a lot of things to people who already have things so I never have been very impressed. This book, however, does have some principles in it that do work. The premise of the book is that God wants you to prosper. That statement alone will turn off a host of people. If you can make it past that statement, here are some other things that this book proclaims. You have to go on a financial fast from credit cards to begin the process It is not easy To Better Serve God, you have to have some finances to do things The basic set up of the book is this: PART 1: God's Power to Prosper You (you have to settle this in your mind to make this work) PART 2: Prepare Yourself To Prosper (addressing attitudes, and actions to support this new lifestyle) PART 3: Prudence Begets Prosperity (how to get rid of greed debt and credit) PART 4: Testimonials of those who have done this and how it changed their lives. DOES THIS BOOK CLAIM TO SOLVE PROBLEMS? This book is not claiming to solve all of your problems. There is some action that you have to take, but there is also a process of God filling in the blanks as you begin to do what you can to meet Him halfway. THE 21 DAY FAST FROM SPENDING. Michelle Singletary suggests many plans of action such as journaling through your fast, keeping strict records and ways of saving. The other side of the coin, however, is that you need to build yourself up on the Word of God and learn what God has to say about this way of living to purify the reader from the wrong ways of thinking and acting which brings about poverty originally. Giving is one of them. The more you give, the more you get back is a big premise in this book. I think that the 21 day fast from using plastic is a great idea. It is a hard thing, I am sure to do. I have not had the time to test it out as of yet, but it is something that I plan to implement in the future- it sounds like a good thing to do. The thing of the fast is that you have to STOP trips to the mall, online shopping, window shopping, catalog shopping, and all forms of eating out. No movies, or entertainment allowed at all that costs money. You have to look for FREE ways of entertainment. No plastic can be used at all- only physical money. That means if you spend money on hair, nails, etc, you have to forgo that as well and learn to do it yourself. You also have to get an accountibility partner to report to so you will keep on track. There is a long discussion on what is debt and when and if it is allowed in your life. The only things allowed on your fast are essential NEEDS. She gives a list of what they might be. All of this is with instruction to ask God to guide you for personal things to add to or subtract from the list. FINAL COMMENTS After running through the book the first time, I have to say that there are some excellent ideas in this